1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for removing edible meat from bones, wherein the meat is stripped longitudinally of its bone. More particularly, the invention relates to the method and apparatus of deboning uncooked poultry thighs, whereby an enlarged knuckle at the end of the bone of the thigh is gripped and pulled longitudinally, and in the meantime a plurality of wires arranged to form a polygon about the bone are moved so as to close about the bone, thereby cutting through the meat to reach the bone, so that as the thigh bone is drawn through the wires, the wires strip the meat from the bone.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When preparing poultry for consumption in the retail market, such as at fast food restaurants, it has become desirable to serve the meat with the bones removed. Deboned meat can be used in sandwiches and in other conditions where it is desirable not to have to remove the bone during the eating process.
In the past, various automated procedures have been developed for stripping the meat from the thigh bones of poultry, whereby one of the enlarged knuckles at the ends of the thigh bone are grasped and pulled while the movement of the meat is restrained from movement. This results in the meat being stripped away from the bone. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,672,000 and 4,495,675 disclose equipment that includes two pairs of blades that are used in the meat stripping process. One pair of blades closes about the enlarged knuckle of the thigh bone, then the second pair of blades closes about the bone at a position adjacent the first pair of blades, and then the pairs of blades are moved apart along the length of the bone with the second pair of blades scrapping along the length of the bone and stripping the meat from the bone.
The raw meat has a tendency to adhere to the bone along the length of the bone, and the removal thereof usually results in a tearing or shearing of the meat adjacent the bone. The blades that scrape along the length of the bone usually do not conform to the shape of the bone, therefore the blades tend to leave meat adhering to the bone where the blades did not fit the bone. Also, the rather rigid blades sometimes tend to gouge into the bone, causing bone chips to be removed with the meat, and occasionally the bones will crack during the stripping process, especially at a position adjacent one of the knuckles at the ends of the bones. This leaves bone fragments in the stripped meat, which, if not later removed, can be dangerous to the ultimate consumer that expects to receive a completely deboned product.